This application pertains to a sweep-frequency generator and electrical applicator gun for control of termites and other insects. It is an improvement on the method and apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,223,468 4,366,644, and 4,782,623.
Previous systems of electric termite control as described in the above-cited patents use electronic vibrators, oscillators, and single-frequency pulse capacitive .discharge techniques for high-voltage, high-frequency generation of linear pulses. These devices have limited spectrum widths and cannot cover the wide range of capacitive, inductive, and reactively resistive elements of dielectrics encountered under actual field conditions, especially insects with hard exoskeletons.
Whereas the termite is a soft-bodied creature, the outer skin of many insects harmful to domestic construction and man hardens to a protective armor. The main ingredient of some insect exoskeletons is chitin, which is a light-weight, plastic-like material highly resistant to water and corrosives. Chitin is endowed with excellent dielectric qualities; it does not conduct electricity easily. Other insect exoskeletons are comprised substantially of sclerotin and cuticulin. Cuticulin resembles the substance of the human fingernail and renders an insect's biological mass waterproof. Thus, hard exoskeleton insects can be characterized as living, capacitor-like components having variable AC-reactive and resistive properties capable of impeding the flow of electricity.